Automatic time-switch.



G. R. GL'ARK.

AUTOMATIC TIME SWITCH;

APPLICATION FILED our. 29,1906.

908,073, Patented Dec. 29, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

flu-wanton atmnoqa G. R. CLARK. AUTOMATIO TIME SWITCH. APPLICATION FILEDOUT. 29, 1906.

908,073. Patented Dec. '29, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2;

G. R. CLARK.

AUTOMATIC mm SWITCH. APPLICATION IVILED DOT. 29, 1906.

908,073. Patented Dec.29,1908.

/ I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATS Arnivr OFFTQE.

GEORGE R. CLARK, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

AUTOMATIC THEE-SWITCH.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Time-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for automatically operating electricswitches, and particularly to means for operating said switches to bothon and off position atpredetermined intervals of time.

The object of the invention is to greatly simplify the construction aswell as the means and mode of operation of such devices, whereby theyare not only cheapened in construction but are rendered more eliicientand unlikely to get out of order.

A further object is to construct a device suitable for operating theelectric window lights of a store or the illuminating devices of anelectric sign whereby said lights will be automatically turned on at agiven time and again automatically turned off after a predeterminedinterval of time.

A further object is to so construct a device of the character mentionedin which the electric switch will be positively operated to both its onand off positions.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view, theinvention consists of the means, mechanism, construction and mode ofoperation, or their equivalents, hereinafter described and set forth inthe claims.

In the drawings herewith Figure 1 is a front elevation of the devicewith the casing removed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion ofthe mechanism showing the means for tripping the parts at thepredetermined times. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of a portion ofthe tripping mechanism. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the electricswitch and the arbor carrying the operating sweeps with other partsremoved. Fig. 5 is an elevation showing one of the operating sweeps asit is about to operate to throw the switch from closed to open position.Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the arrangment and method of connectingthe indicator hands. Fig. 7 is a view of the indicator by means of whichthe device is set to operate at predetermined times.

Like parts are represented by similar Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 29, 1906.

Patented Dec. 29, 1908.

Serial No. 341,048.

characters of reference throughout the several views.

Referring by letter to the drawings, a I represents a base or pedestalwithin which is located an electric switch, located in the electriccircuit to be made and broken at predetermined intervals. The switch, ais preferably located within the base, a, in such position that itsblades, a will swing horizontally when operating from open to closedposition and vice versa. Connected with the blades, o by any suitablemeans and projecting beyond the pivotal point of said blades in bothdirections are arms a a. In the drawing (Fig. 1 and 4) these arms a aare shown as the extremities of a continuous rod, of, attached to thetie, 0., which connects the respective blades a o The arm a is shownbent at right angles and again offset to form a contact for theoperating sweep hereinafter mentioned. It is obvious that this bendingof the arm is only necessitated through the relation of the parts and byre-arrangement of the operating parts could be obviated. The same istrue of the arm a, which is shown as extending at an inclination to theswitch blades a Mounted upon the base or pedestal, a, is a spring motorpreferably of the clock-work type, having two principal arbors 6 b thearbor, 19 corresponding to the timing mechanism arbor of an ordinaryclock, while the arbor 5 corresponds to that of the striking mechanism.

The operation of the motor might be con trolled by a pendulum but ispreferably controlled by means of a balance-wheel b in the ordinarymanner. The motor is driven by spiral or clock springs, I), located onthe arbor, b and one or more springs, 6 located i on the arbor 6 Motionis imparted to the various parts from said arbors through trains ofgears in the ordinary manner. Mounted on the arbor, 6 is a disk, 0,having preferably four notches, 0 therein. The disk, 0, is similar tothe striking disk of a clock mechanism and is engaged by a hooked detent0 Upon raising the detent, 0 from engagement with the disk, 0, thespring, b will operate to re volve the arbor, 12 until the hookeddetent, 0 engages the next succeeding notch 0 The means for raising thedetent is as follows: Pivoted on a projecting stud, 0 extending from themain frame of the motor, is a lever, 0, one end, 0 of which is so bentas i the fr to extend beneath the hooked detent 0 The opposite end ofthe lever, 0 is extended laterally as at c (Fig. 3). Projecting from meof the motor is a stop, 0 a portion of which extends over the extremityof the lever, 0 and above the arm, a in the drawing this is shown as aU-shaped member. However, it is obvious that a rod or wire proj ectingabove the arm, a and not below the same would be su'flicient. Securedupon the arbor, l), are indicator hands, 01 al The method of securingthe hands upon the arbor is best shown in Fig. 6 in which (1 is a sleeveloosely journaled on the arbor, b and abutting against the stop cl".Mounted on the sleeve, (1 1s a second sleeve, of. The sleeve, d, hasrigidly secured thereto the in dicator hand, (1, and also preferably atright angles thereto the spring arm (1 A similar spring arm d is securedto the sleeve (1 The indicator hand, (Z is removable and engages thesleeve, 66 by a spline or other suitable means of engagement. A collar,(1 is provided which bears against the hand, CF, and a compression nut,(i on the end of the arbor, b provides means for securing the parts inany desired relation. it is obvious that by releasing the compressionnut, 65 the relation of the hands cl d with their connecting sleeves, 01di and their respective spring arms d d may be varied to adjust theparts for operating at longer or shorter intervals of time. he length ofthe spring arms, (1 d is such that as the spring arms rotate with thearbor, b the extremity of the arm will come in contact with the stop, 0and as the arbor continues to rotate the spring arm will be placed undertension until upon the continued rotation of the arbor, b the spring armwill slip from its engagement upon the stop, 0 and violently contact theextremity c of the lever c causing the opposite end 0 of said lever torise and engage the hooked detent, 0 to lift the said detent fromitsengagement in the notch c of the disk, 0, which will permit the arbor, 5to rotate through the influence of the spring, 5 The arbor, 5 extends inopposite directions beyond the base, a, and carries at each end oppositeextending spring arms or operating sweeps e e, the spring arms orsweeps, e c, of the respective ends being arranged at right angles toeach other. Projecting from the base, a, into the path of the operatingsweeps, c, is a pin, 6 which engages said sweeps near the extremitythereof. As the arbor, b continues to rotate through the influence ofthe spring, 19 after the sweep has engaged the pin, 6 the sweep willbe'placed under tension as indicated in Fig. 5, until upon the continuedrotation of the arbor, b the sweep slips from its engagement upon thepin, 6 and violently contacts the extremity of the arm, a (as shown inFig. 5) with a force suficient to throw the switch blades, (L to theiropen position. WVhen the switch, a is in open position the arm, a willbe in position to be contacted by the operating sweep located at theopposite end of the arbor, 5 Upon the corresponding sweep being placedunder tension in the manner as before described, and slipping ofi thepin, e it will strike the arm, a and throw the switch blades, a toclosed position, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 4.

The time of the operation is determined by the relation of the indicatorhands (1 d. The hands at d revolve over a dial as shown in Fig. 7. Theindicator is divided into units representing hours, there being a totalof twenty-four representing one day. The movement of the indicator handsis such that they move in unison and make one complete revolution in thetwenty-four hours, moving in a direction contrary to the hands of aclock. The relation of the indicator hands with their respective springarms d d is such that the spring arm will slip over the stop, 0 andcontact the end, 0, of the lever, 0 at the moment the hand reaches thevertical or the pointindicated by the arrowin Fig. 7. In setting thedevice, the compression nut, ri is loosened and the first hand, (1, isset as many units away from the arrow as there are hours interveningbetween the time of setting the device and the hour when it is desiredthat the switch should be thrown to its closed position. The second handis then set as many units back of the first hand as the hours it isdesired the switch shall remain in closed position before being thrownto the off position. Thus if it is desired that the lights in astore-window be turned on at five p. m. and oil seven hours later, or attwelve p. m., then at three p. m., or two hours before the switch isthrown to on position, the indicator hands will appear as they are shownin Fig. 7. l/Vhen the hand, d, reaches the point indicated by the arrow,the spring arm, (Z will slip from the stop, 0 and contact the end, 0, ofthe lever 0 The detent,

0 will be lifted and the arbor, 5 will make a partial revolution; one ofthe operating sweeps slipping over the pin, 6 will contact the arm, a},and throw the switch to its closed position. The detent, 0 will thenengage the next succeeding notch of the disk, 0, and the rotation ol'the arbor, b, will be stopped. The switch will remain in closed positionuntil the arm, d reaches the point indicated by the arrow seven hourslater, when the operation will be again repeated by the spring arm, d,slipping from the stop, 0 again tripping the lever 0 to release thedetent, c and permit the arbor, 5 another partial revolution, wherebyone of the sweeps will be brought in contact with the pin, 6 and placedunder tension, as shown in Fig. 5, and will upon slipping fromengagement with the pin, 6 contact the arm, a, and throw the switchagain to open position. The timing of the various parts of the motor issuch that the arbor, 6 carrying the indicator hand makes one revolutionin twenty-four hours, while the arbor, 5 carrying the sweeps will makeone revolution in forty-eight hours. 'It is obvious, however, thatinstead of carrying double sweeps as shown in the drawing, the arbor, 6may be provided with a single sweep at each end, when it would benecessary for the arbor to make one revolution in twenty-four hours. Themotor is adapted to be hand-wound, and is preferably of the eight-daytype, that is, adapted to operate tor eight consecutive days upon onewinding.

It is obvious that various modifications may be employed for carryingout the invention; I do not, therefore, limit myself to the exactconstruction shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device such as described, a motor, a spring arm connected withsaid motor, a detent normally preventing the movement of said motor, atiming device for releasing said detent at predetermined times to permitsaid motor to move said spring arm together with means for causing saiddetent to arrest the movement of said motor after the same has movedsaid arm a predetermined distance, means for placing said spring armunder tension during its movement and releasing same, an electricswitch, and a projection on said switch lying in the path of movement ofsaid spring arm, substantially as specified.

2. In a device such as described, an oper ating motor, a spring armconnected to said operating motor, a detent normally prevent ing themovement of said operating motor, a timing motor for releasing saiddetent at predetermined times to permit said operating motor to movesaid spring arm through a certain path of movement together with meansfor causing said detent to arrest the movement of said motor, means forplacing said spring arm under tension during its movement and releasingsame, an electric switch, and arms on said switch projecting into thepath of movement of said spring arm; substantially as specified.

3. In a device as described, a revoluble arbor, a motor actuating saidarbor at predetermined intervals, arms carried by said arbor, anelectric switch, arms on said switch projecting on opposite sides of thepivotal point of the switch and into the paths of the arms carried onsaid arbor, substantially as specified.

4. In a device as described, an electric switch, arms projecting onopposite sides of the pivotal point of said switch, means for deliveringa blow to said projecting arms, alternately on opposite sides of thepivotal point of said switch.

5. In a device as described, a revoluble arbor, means for intermittentlyo erating said arbor at predetermined interva s, an 'electric switch,sweeps carried by said arbor, projections on opposite sides or thepivotal point of said switch, arms on said switch projecting into thepaths of said sweeps, substantially as specified.

6. In a device as described, an electric switch, arms projecting fromsaid switch on opposite sides of the pivotal connection thereof, springarms adapted to engage said projecting switch arms, means for placingsaid spring arms under tension and suddenly releasing same prior totheir engagement with the projecting switch arms, substantially asspecified.

7. In a device as described, a pivoted electric switch, arms projectingon opposite sides of the pivotal connection thereof, sweeps adapted toalternately engage said arms and move said switch alternately to on andofi positions at predetermined intervals, substantially as specified.

S. In a device as described, a pivoted electric switch, arms projectingfrom said switch on opposite sides of the pivotal connection thereof,spring sweeps adapted to engage said projecting arms at predeterminedintervals, a stationary projection adjacent to the projecting switcharms engaged by said sweeps prior to the engagement of said switch arms,whereby said sweeps are placed under tension, substantially asspecified.

9. In a device as described, an electric switch, a motor,switch-operating mechanism actuated by said motor comprising a springarm with means "for placing same under tension, a detent normallyretaining said motor inoperative, a timing device, a revoluble arbor insaid timing device, a spring arm carried by said arbor, and means forplacing said last-mentioned spring arm under tension, said spring armbeing adapted when released to engage said detent to release said motor,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

10. In a device as described, an electric switch, a motor,switch-operating mechanism actuated by said motor, a detent normallyholding said motor inoperative, a timing device, a revoluble arbor, anindicator hand adjustably mounted on said arbor, a spring arm fixed inits relation with said indicator hand, means for placing said spring armunder tension whereby said spring arm will be released and will engagethe detent to release the motor when said indicator hand reaches apredetermined position, substantially as specified.

11. In a device as described, an electric switch, a motor,switch-operating mechanism actuated by said motor, a timing device, arevoluble arbor in said timing device, two indicator hands independentlyadjustable & 908,073

upon said revoluble arbor, spring arms fixed gage the detent and releasethe motor, sub- 10 in their relation with each of the respectivestantially as specified.

indicator hands, a projection in the path of In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto set said spring arms against which said spring my handthis twenty-fifth day of October A. arms will be placed under tension, adetent D. 1906.

normally holding said motor inoperative and GEORGE R. CLARK. projectinginto the path of said spring arms Witnesses: whereby said spring armswhen released from SAML. B. RIOKETTS,

the engagement oi said projection will en- W. A. RIcKETTs.

